AMTBYIGA Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Hotpot

Gu Nian paused slightly upon hearing Lin Sui’s voice. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before pushing his wheelchair slowly out of the woods and toward the bench.

“Let me introduce you. This is my lover.” Lin Sui felt a bit awkward saying “husband” directly, so he used a more subtle term. Even so, his cheeks flushed red, but his eyes were bright. “I’ve wanted to introduce you two for ages! This is my good friend from school, Shi Qingzhou.”

Gu Nian nodded slightly at Shi Qingzhou and politely said, “Hello.” Shi Qingzhou, however, responded indifferently, barely glancing his way.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two fell silent.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

Gu Nian was simply unsure of what to say and lacked experience in this area, so he figured less said, less mistakes made. As for Shi Qingzhou, he simply didn’t care for Gu Nian.

After all, the forum post discussing Lin Sui’s early marriage had become common knowledge at school recently. Although Gu Nian was much better than the described image, one thing was true: he was an older, disabled, leftover man.

And he looked like someone who wouldn’t be easy to get along with.

Shi Qingzhou looked at Lin Sui with the same feeling he had when seeing a friend with a love-addled brain being deceived by ascumbag, but seeing Lin Sui’s cheerful expression, he swallowed the harsh words. He replaced them with a cold, polite question: “Mr. Gu, would you like to join us for dinner?”

The words “Mr. Gu” revealed his attitude towards Gu Nian, easily conveying the subtext: *old man, stay away*.

Gu Nian had seen plenty of storms in his life and didn’t take this little jab to heart. He replied politely, “I’m picking up Lin Sui to go shopping.”

The unspoken meaning was that his wife wouldn’t be eating with him.

Their eyes met, and sparks flew.

Shi Qingzhou was also a shrewd person and immediately narrowed his eyes, his expression becoming even more severe.

*Heh, not so simple.*

Lin Sui was oblivious to the subtle battle between the two, and seriously offered a solution. “Let’s go eat first. I haven’t had a chance to eat anything with all the exams.”

The increasingly dangerous air paused slightly, then dissipated with a whoosh.

Gu Nian nodded without thinking. “Okay.”

As decisively as if he wasn’t the one who had secretly wanted to take Lin Sui away just now.

Shi Qingzhou inexplicably felt a little inferior. He took over Lin Sui’s words and said, “There’s a hotpot place near our school that’s pretty good. Let’s go there. It’s a good way to celebrate Lin Sui finishing his makeup exams.”

Lin Sui’s eyes lit up when he heard the word “hotpot,” his face filled with longing.

He had never eaten hotpot before, and with his good friend and lover!

He heard that people who could eat hotpot together had a very good relationship.

Lin Sui looked at Gu Nian expectantly. His amber eyes seemed to be pleading in the sunlight. Gu Nian’s heart melted, and he naturally followed the two to the hotpot restaurant Shi Qingzhou mentioned, with no intention of refusing.

Shi Qingzhou was right; the hotpot restaurant was pleasant simply by the way it was decorated. As soon as they sat down, a waiter came to take their order, providing a constant, smiling service.

Lin Sui was stunned as he looked at the thick menu, unsure of where to begin.

Gu Nian sat next to him, looking at it along with him, and was equally clueless.

Neither of them had ever eaten hotpot before, and they couldn’t even picture the dishes in their minds, let alone know what they liked.

In the end, Shi Qingzhou stepped in to help, waving his hand and ordering some common items. He also checked the spicy pot option, then turned to continue staring at Gu Nian across from him.

After what had just happened, his impression of Gu Nian had improved slightly; at least he knew how to care for people.

But his disadvantages were also obvious: poor, old, disabled. Other than his face, he was useless.

He looked like a kept man—and Lin Sui seemed to be willingly keeping him.

In short, he could continue to observe him, but he was still suspected of being ascumbag.

Since it was past the peak dining hours, the restaurant wasn’t crowded. Soon, the pot was set up, and a layer of red chili oil floated on the surface of the broth. As the hot steam rose, they could smell the spicy aroma, making them want to sneeze and whetting their appetites.

Shi Qingzhou loved spicy food and enjoyed this aroma the most. He didn’t hold back, immediately putting a plate of lamb into the pot as soon as the food arrived. He chatted with Lin Sui. “Do you have any plans for National Day? If not, why don’t we go to the neighboring province for a trip? I heard there’s a concert there, and my dad gave me two tickets. It’s just right for us to go.”

Lin Sui’s eyeballs nearly fell into the hotpot. His little face was flushed red by the heat, and he almost drooled from being so hungry. Gu Nian handed him a tissue, preventing him from embarrassing himself.

“Thank you,” Lin Sui said, covering his mouth with the tissue. He secretly squeezed Gu Nian’s fingers under the table and whispered.

Gu Nian’s lips curved up, and his mood went from cloudy to sunny.

While the two secretly held hands, Shi Qingzhou was still focused on preventing Lin Sui from being so love-struck.

A few minutes passed quickly. Shi Qingzhou, being experienced, immediately started fishing the meat out.

The perfectly cooked beef, neither too rare nor too overcooked, was divided evenly into three bowls. As soon as it was placed in, the dipping sauce dish was dyed red.

Shi Qingzhou ate a big mouthful with satisfaction, the salty and spicy flavor making him hiss and inhale. Then he took another big mouthful.

Lin Sui followed suit, his cheeks puffed out. After eating one bite, he smiled, his eyes crinkling with delight.

“It’s delicious, right?” Shi Qingzhou asked Lin Sui as he found himself some water. “This restaurant’s Chengdu hotpot is very authentic and satisfying, but it’s very spicy, so you have to drink water with it.”

As he spoke, he gulped down a mouthful.

Lin Sui’s eyes welled up with tears from the spice, but his mouth refused to stop. After he finally swallowed everything, his originally pink lips were a vibrant red, and his soft tongue subtly poked out, trying to alleviate the spiciness by inhaling cold air.

So when a bottle of milk appeared before him, Lin Sui was truly about to cry.

Gu Nian held the milk bottle and fed it to the young man, who was overwhelmed by the spice. His slender fingers delicately held the milk bottle, and through the rising white steam, his stern and cold face was tinged with tenderness.

Shi Qingzhou, who was experiencing both pain and pleasure, suddenly felt like he was shining.

Lin Sui finished a whole bottle of milk before feeling better. As he sighed in relief, he realized that Gu Nian had been feeding him by hand just now. His face flushed red, and he said embarrassedly, “You could have just given it to me. I could have held it.”

Gu Nian didn’t say yes or no, but pushed a white porcelain bowl over, leaning close to Lin Sui and whispering, “Eat this. I rinsed it in water, so it’s not spicy.”

Lin Sui lowered his head subconsciously, and realized that Gu Nian hadn’t eaten anything just now. The beef in his bowl had been rinsed in water and then sprinkled with a little spicy broth, not too spicy, but enough to satisfy his taste.

“Tell me if you can’t eat spicy food.” Lin Sui patted his head in frustration and said, “Wait, I’ll order a clear broth pot.”

Gu Nian shook his head, getting even closer to Lin Sui, almost touching his ear, and said in a low voice, “I want to eat what you make.”

Lin Sui’s ears immediately burned. A sweet feeling welled up in his heart, mixed with heartache for Gu Nian. Suddenly, he didn’t even think the hotpot tasted good anymore.

Shi Qingzhou also saw this scene, and his gaze towards Gu Nian changed greatly.

*He’s actually so good at this.*

He rinsed the food in clear water because you were afraid of the spice, and then added a little bit of spicy sauce because you liked to eat spicy food and wanted to make you happy. Who wouldn’t be moved by such delicate thoughts?

No wonder Lin Sui was so devoted to him. Anyone would be confused.

It turned out that he had misjudged him.

Someone who was willing to spend time and effort doing such small things just to make Lin Sui happy must also like Lin Sui.

Thinking this way, Shi Qingzhou suddenly found Gu Nian much more pleasing. Although he still felt from the bottom of his heart that he wasn’t worthy of Lin Sui, he couldn’t deny that he was at least a good fit for Lin Sui right now.

*Who told Lin Sui to like him?*

Shi Qingzhou silently stamped his friend’s lover with a “qualified” seal. His attitude visibly improved. “You can order a Yin-Yang pot here. Their tomato pot is also pretty good.”

Gu Nian was a little surprised, and happily welcomed this change. Although he didn’t care about Shi Qingzhou’s attitude towards him, he knew that Lin Sui really hoped his friends would accept him, so Gu Nian also replied politely, “No need. I don’t go out much, so I’m not used to eating outside.”

Besides, he was waiting to eat Lin Sui’s special lunch. He couldn’t let these things take up space.

Lin Sui couldn’t even hold his chopsticks when he heard this, his mind filled with thoughts of how Gu Nian couldn’t go without eating.

Shi Qingzhou thought that Gu Nian was refusing because of his hostility, and immediately felt guilty. After thinking about it, he took the initiative and said, “Why don’t we go back now? I happen to have something to do this afternoon anyway, so it’s good to go back early.”

This was exactly what Gu Nian wanted, but he certainly couldn’t agree so quickly. After feigning politeness a few times, he saw that Shi Qingzhou was insisting on leaving early, so Gu Nian nodded in agreement.

After leaving the hotpot restaurant, Shi Qingzhou went back to school. Lin Sui pushed Gu Nian and didn’t rush to the mall to shop, but instead bought ajianbing guozi, adding all the ingredients, and put it in Gu Nian’s hand.

“Eat something to fill your stomach.” Lin Sui looked at Gu Nian’s stomach with concern. Although it wasn’t explicitly stated in the original novel, every domineering CEO protagonist always had a stomach problem, so he had to pay attention to it in advance. “I’ll make you something else when we get home.”

Gu Nian had no objections after hearing the second half of the sentence. He took a bite under Lin Sui’s gaze, seemingly savoring it for a while. “It’s pretty good.”

Lin Sui looked at thejianbing guozi in his hand, and the worry in his mind slightly went astray.

Of course he knew it was delicious. It was ajianbing guozi with all the ingredients, costing almost thirty yuan. Lin Sui tried hard to wipe away the saliva in his heart.

Gu Nian looked at him thoughtfully, then suddenly raised his hand and brought it to his lips. “Want a bite?”

Lin Sui subconsciously wanted to open his mouth when he smelled the aroma, but his reason barely managed to hold back his appetite at the crucial moment. He struggled to look away, his tone heavy. “No, you eat it.” Gu Nian hadn’t eaten anything yet, so how could he fight him for food?

*Wuwuwu, but it smells so good. I really want to eat a bite.*

He wouldn’t bite much, just a taste.

Gu Nian couldn’t help but smile, clenching his fist to cover his lips, the corners of his mouth curving into a very shallow arc.

*So cute.*

*How can he be so cute?*